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Baked Chicken Parmesan

After our trip to Mexico, I knew it was time to eat a little healthier and try to get back on track at home. This recipe has helped us get back into the “eating healthy” mode (at least for a few days).

When I was younger, my family would order take-out from our favorite neighborhood Italian restaurant. My go-to order was always chicken parmesan, which consisted of a huge serving of crispy fried chicken breasts topped with marinara sauce and loads of cheese, sitting on a big bed of pasta. I still crave that meal but sometimes want it to be a little lighter and healthier (just sometimes, am I right?).

I doubled up on this tomato sauce the other week, and froze the extra half. I knew that velvety, tomato sauce would be delicious to top anything with, but this Baked Chicken Parmesan was a stellar example of how versatile that sauce really is. I took thinly sliced chicken breasts, coated them in breadcrumbs and parmesan, baked them until golden brown and then topped them with the tomato sauce and cheese for the final touches. Added some fresh basil from our garden and bam – dinner was so simple to make and yet so delicious and healthy. I served this with a big arugula salad tossed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. It is of course delicious with some pasta on the side, too.